Rayan Cherki is expected to become a Manchester City player in the near future and Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the situation, while France captain Kylian Mbappe has praised the 21-year-old.
Man City have set their sights on Cherki as a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne, who is close to joining Napoli after not being offered a new contract at the Etihad. Despite Phil Foden already being in the squad, Pep Guardiola has asked for another attacking midfielder to help his side move on from De Bruyne.
The Cityzens previously shortlisted Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz and Nottingham Forest playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White as targets.
However, they felt Wirtz would be too expensive to sign and have decided to prioritise Cherki over Gibbs-White.
Cherki has said yes to joining City, as TEAMtalk revealed on May 29. That has resulted in City opening formal talks with Lyon to try and forge an agreement.
Romano has now revealed when the one-cap France international could officially become a City player.
“My expectation is that over the weekend this is going to get sorted and then the player, early next week, will do his medical and will travel with the Man City squad for the FIFA Club World Cup,” the journalist said.
“That’s the mission for the boy. Man City are in a rush on the player too.”
Romano added that Cherki is ‘pushing a lot’ for the transfer to be completed as he wants to play under Guardiola and take a big next step in his exciting career.
Cherki made his senior debut for France in their Nations League semi-final defeat to Spain on Thursday. While it was a disappointing result for France, Cherki came off the bench in the 63rd minute and impressed, scoring a fantastic volley.
When asked about France’s new attacking weapon, Mbappe told reporters: “His qualities are obvious, there was never any doubt about that.
“He is someone who has brought us [France] a lot and will continue to do so. His feet speak for themselves.”
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Man City deal ‘getting done’ – Rayan Cherki
Following the clash against Spain, Cherki confirmed that his move to City is advancing.
“Yes… it’s getting done. But you already know my answer, everybody knows,” he said.
“But there’s still a game to play. Now we have to enjoy and give everything, but after it will be done.”
After agreeing personal terms with the player, City began the bidding at around €23million (£19m). They thought that such a fee would be enough due to a gentleman’s agreement in place between Lyon and Cherki, whose contract expires next year.
However, City may have to nearly double their offer as Lyon are now demanding €35-40m (£34m).
Cherki could become City’s third arrival of the summer as Guardiola’s side have already agreed deals for Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri. Both players will have their City medicals this weekend.
City are expected to pay AC Milan an initial fee of €55-57m for midfielder Reijnders. The transfer could eventually be worth €70m (£59m) through bonuses.
City have also struck a €40m deal with Wolverhampton Wanderers for Ait-Nouri to become their new left-back.
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